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Celebrating women
ABC News senior correspondent Carole Simpson will be featured at
several events on Thursday, Oct. 6, sponsored by the Carrie Chapman Catt
Center for Women and Politics and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Almost exactly five years to the date that it was originally dedicated,
the Plaza of Heroines will be recognized again in a ceremony held in conjunction
with the 2000 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics' fall event.
"Celebration of Heroines 2000" will be held Thursday, Oct. 5,
at the Plaza of Heroines, located just outside of Catt Hall. More than
3,000 bricks bearing the names of women have been placed there since the
Plaza of Heroines and Catt Hall opened in 1995, having been recognized
by family, friends and former students for the women's influence in their
lives.
Carole Simpson, the anchor of "World News Sunday" and an Emmy
Award-winning senior correspondent for ABC News, will be the featured
speaker at the event. Simpson, who serves as the 2000 Mary Louise Smith
Chair in Women and Politics will also give a public address on "Women
and Family Issues in Campaign 2000" later that evening.
Her visit to campus was scheduled in conjunction with the university's
Women's Week and Family Weekend celebrations as well as Iowa State's yearlong
program theme, "Strengthening Families to Become the Best."
The "Celebration of Heroines 2000" is sponsored by the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Also
participating in the celebration will be LAS Dean Peter Rabideau; Center
director Dianne Bystrom; and Jane Cox, Iowa State professor of theater
who will present readings from the biographies of women honored in the
plaza. Four bricks honoring the Mary Louise Smith chairs, including Simpson
will be unveiled. The event is open to the public.
Simpson also will meet with students and donors affiliated with the Catt
Center to discuss her career and the upcoming elections on an informal
basis. She will meet with members of the campus community during a public
reception from 7-8 p.m. on Oct. 5 in the South Ballroom of the Memorial
Union. The recipients of the 2000 Strong-Minded Women Awards will be recognized
at the reception proceeding Simpson's public presentation at 8 p.m.
"We are pleased that we could schedule Carole Simpson's visit as
part of the university's celebration of Women's Week and Family Weekend,"
said Bystrom, noting that the television journalist has received numerous
awards for her reporting on social issues, particularly those involving
children and families. "It also will be a great opportunity to hear
her views on the current presidential campaign, just one month before
the Nov. 7 elections."
Simpson won national praise for her role as the sole moderator for the
1992 presidential candidate "town hall" debate between George
Bush and Bill Clinton. She was one of the reporters on the critically
acclaimed documentary, "Black and White in America" and anchored
three hour-long ABC News Specials on "The Changing American Family,"
"Public Schools in America" and "Sex and Violence in the
Media." In 1990, Simpson was a member of the "Nightline"
team in South Africa and helped anchor ABC's live coverage of the release
of Nelson Mandela from his 27-year imprisonment. She also has anchored
many major breaking news stories such as the Persian Gulf War, the Tiananmen
massacre and the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings.
Her efforts on behalf of women and minorities include serving as chair
of the ABC News Women's Advisory Board, vice chair of the International
Women's Medical Foundation, and as a member of the board of directors
of the National Commission of Working Women. Simpson has established several
college scholarships for women and minorities pursuing careers in broadcast
journalism at the University of Michigan, where she earned a B.A. in journalism.
She did graduate work at the University of Iowa.
Simpson came to ABC News in 1982 from NBC News, where she covered the
U.S. Congress and hosted a women's public affairs program. Prior to joining
NBC News in 1974, she was a journalism instructor at Northwestern University's
Medill School of Journalism. She also spent two years as a journalism
instructor and director of the information bureau at Tuskegee Institute
in Alabama.
Around LAS
October 2-8, 2000
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